What Sandy and Nilam can teach Bangalore

R Edwin Sudhir
02 November 2012, 04:29 PM IST

So, what lessons do Hurricane Sandy and Cyclone Nilam have for Bangalore? Many -- from disaster management preparedness to quickly fixing what's broken. Also, a sterling display of the never-say-die spirit of New Yorkers who are bouncing back quickly from whatever Sandy flung at them which is worth emulating anywhere. There's one thing the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd will be keenly following, and that's the flooding of the New York subway which brought that metropolis' lifeline to a standstill for about 48 hours. Even as Bangalore takes its baby steps on the Metro route, it's not facing that kind of situation now, mercifully. But with work on the underground sections on at a fast clip, it's only a matter of time before these are operational and vulnerable to milder versions of Sandy's havoc. Currently, only the first Reach (a short stretch of about 7km) is up and running and it was a heartening sight to see it glide by without missing a beat during the rainy spell Bangalore experienced as a fallout of Cyclone Nilam which battered the east coast.

So, two lesssons.

The Metro is a dry and convenient mode of transport even in mild cyclonic conditions when roads are water-logged and traffic gridlocks are the norm after the downpour fizzles out into a drizzle and everybody wheels out their vehicles. Those using the Metro vouch for the excellent service and the time it saves them and how their quality of life has improved. And, when all the Reaches are ready and the city is completely networked (though that should take a few years), it should ease, maybe just a wee bit, the traffic problem. That's the Nilam effect.

The second lesson is about proactivity. If Sandy can knock out the New York subway, the Bangalore Metro is vulnerable too to such climate disasters. So, BMRC needs to look at how the damage can be minimized, if not entirely prevented, when the city faces such a situation. And if some climatologists are to be believed, we'll face more such weather woes thanks to global warming and our own irresponsible ways of life. Another lesson piggybacking on proactivity is contingency planning and execution. If an ageing New York subway system can be restored, at least parts of it, so quickly, the authorities there must be doing something right. It's up to BMRC to tap into that knowledge and put measures in place for Bangalore Metro too.

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